


This Sky...

by Player1isgreat



Series: Ambiguous Dreams [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 02:29:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14392341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Player1isgreat/pseuds/Player1isgreat
Summary: "Sora...What happened to you...?"





	This Sky...

I already learned through this first experience, the Realm of Darkness was no laughing matter.

Heartless deceptively small and monstrously large crawled in every inch of this despicable place, devouring worlds and human's hearts with no hesitation whatsoever.

All except for one Keyblade Master...we were here to break her out for good.  
And even if I was donned a Master myself, my strength seemed to be amount to nothing.

Once again, when I thought I was at the top of the world, I always found somewhere else to be kicked back down.

And as I stared at my prized Keyblade, Way of Dawn, practically broken in half, I knew this path needed a little change.

"I can't use this Keyblade anymore. I might as well leave it here..." I announced to my partner behind me, burying the broken blade into the gray, lifeless sand.  
"In case my other me needs it..."

This new path, one that finally strays from the neutral grounds of gray oblivion, I knew I have to be where I'm truly needed.  
Consume the Darkness, return to Light.

And now, with a battle-worn Master under one arm, and my new destiny in another, I knew my new purpose.

Return to Light, my new Keyblade.  
It was crafted more like a giant sword, the nicks and grooves along the blade shown that the road to goodwill isn't always smoothly-paved.

I had no real time for celebration as Aqua easily collapsed in my grip, true exhaustion finally catching up to her after those ceaseless years of survival.

I already knew, we all needed some hard-earned rest. For when her strength returns, she's the key to returning another Guardian of Light to our team.

 

~~~~~

 

As we climbed the steps to the Yen Sid's study, the sight that opened up to me was strange, comforting, but above all else...awkward.

Four pairs of eyes were automatically glued onto me, Mickey, and Aqua; relieved but hesitant on my present decision.

"I see you have succeeded in your mission," the older Master boomed, a gentle nod was passed to the similarly-aged sage in the room, whisking away Aqua to the comforts of a spare room.

Ansem the Wise...he's here. So those that mean—  
"Riku? You look...different." A girl's voice, so much like Kairi when she was younger, surfaced from that strange Organization member.

That short black hair almost bordered the small leather coat she wore, childish whimsy swirled within those ocean-blue eyes; trying to bring up some hint of memory.  
It just feels like I should know her...what was it?

"Well...it's nice seeing _you_ again, Riku." Now a more familiar voice broke through my thoughts, still sounding as cold as the day I defeated him, and still looked the same as he was in that simulation.

_Roxas_.  
"Yeah...it's a pleasure." I absentmindedly returned, trying my best to not show any weakness, embarrassment even.  
At that moment, I clearly needed to make amends.

But the blonde Nobody took the first chance, strolling over to shake my hand in reconsideration, hard.  
"How's the hand doing for you?" He asked, his present tone made me consider he wanted everyone to know, to know the last laugh of rage he dealt onto me that day.

And right now, he was grasping my appointed wound, my broken wrist, like he wanted to break it again.  
"It's _healed_." I barked back, petty annoyance beginning to spark; "Now I know _not_ to mess with you, huh?"

"Of course." He let go, stepping back to the girl with a few weary glances dodged at me; "after all, I'm my own person now. Me, DiZ, _and_ Xion."

Right, they now have their proper hearts. Roxas, Ansem the Wise, and...Xion.  
But why does that name give me such an uneasy feeling?

"As you can see as well," Yen Sid finally resumed; "Sora successfully mastered the power of waking and now holds Ventus accounted for a proper return. I'm sure Kairi and Lea will arrive here in due time as well."

"Yeah...thank you, Master."  
I now felt a smile curl on my lips. Finally, after all this time, Sora's safe.  
Wait—

"-Where is he?"  
Before the wizard could properly answer, the door to the guest rooms clicked shut, Ansem the Wise now giving me a gentle smile.

"Sora's sleeping quite soundly, there's nothing to worry about. You both had enough work cut out for too well, perhaps you deserve the same."  
"Yeah...of course."

 

~~

 

The dark setting of the bedroom felt nice, especially now that I know Sora's here and safe.  
His snoring was the first thing I heard once I entered, seeing his head buried in the worn pillow and the blanket barely covering his unruly spiked hair.

"At least you're actually sleeping..." I whispered to him, disrobing my jacket against the soft moonlight. It seems a bit silly to even consider a change of clothes in such troubling times, the race against the ever-growing forces of Darkness with little moments of peace.

Stranger yet, the lack of nightmares he is proposed to have after that Exam...but he's right here, that's that.  
The adjacent bed groaned lightly as I sat myself on it, undoing my shoes and placing them diligently on the floor of the furniture.

"Alright..." I finally sighed, settling on the mattress with a peripheral gaze to my friend across the room.  
"'Night Sora."

Very gently, with the Light flitting through the window as a guide, I drifted off to a comforting sleep.

 

~~~~~

 

"Riku~! Riku, get up!"  
Through my drowsiness, I surely felt the sensation of someone trying to shake me awake.

With that in mind, I opened my eyes to see Sor—  
"-Riku, Yen Sid needs us." Kairi greeted me, a strange line of worry etched across her face.  
"Yeah...alright." I lazily murmured, making due time in getting redressed, but I already knew I shouldn't stall.

Whatever it is, it has to be in relation to Sora. After all, he's the key to winning against the Seekers of Darkness. However, what I saw from the chamber door seemed something completely _different_.

My best friend was right there, back taut and waiting the next roll of command, even noting that the door was loud enough for him to notice and turn around.

But he didn't...why?

"I believe you know the severity of the situation," the old Master reiterated; "Xehanort's forces continue to watch our every move, and we must continue our search for the Seven Lights. So far, you have done quite the exceptional job, Sora."

"Yep...it's just me and Ven right now. He needs to learn that I mean business!" I could see him puff his chest out from behind; "He needs to know that my heart belongs to me, I'm ready for what's coming!"

Hearing him say that made my heart drop.  
What in the world does he mean by all of _that!?_  
Just...what happened while I was gone?

"Sora...?"  
Finally, he turned his head.

"Yeah, what's up Riku?"  
And I wasn't too sure to believe the light through the tower window was affecting me in some way...but why do his _eyes_ look different?

"It's-...Nothing..."  
It's better than making him panic, I guess...

"I get it." He only answered back, his smile lax and calm; "There's nothing to worry about."

"Indeed, but we mustn't waste any more time. Master Aqua will recover in due time to retrieve Ventus. I believe you know what you must do?"  
"Of course!"

His cheerful, sunshine-bright grin was back, but all it did was bring an unsettling pit in my stomach.  
And I'm sure Kairi and Lea could feel it as well, though their sidelong glances at him went ignored.

Something's wrong...with Sora's heart.

 

~

 

_Castle Oblivion._  
The name brought an unwarranted shiver down my spine as soon as Yen Sid, Xion, even Roxas mentioned it.

The fortress trapped on the edge of Light and Dark, the walls slowly sapping away any memories with every floor that is climbed.

The place where Sora lost an entire year worth of memories, a spectrum of his life he can never get back.  
But the true purpose behind the walls was something that held no manipulation or black coats.

"The Master told me it was a trick," Aqua slowly explained; "a device that Masters from long ago made to protect my home...I used it to protect Ven. But I-...I didn't think it would be for this long..."

"-Hey...It's okay, we get it." I only consoled, laying a steady hand on her shoulder; "You're here, and Sora can help get him back."

We all made our own of sacrifices, all in Xehanort's cunning plans, and now we'll fight back.

We let Aqua get her bearings together, Lea and Kairi resume their training, and letting me protect the remaining worlds from Heartless and the Seekers of Darkness.

It'll go well.  
We will win this war.

 

~~~~

 

Master Aqua's crestfallen face was the first out of three things I never wanted to see once I returned to the tower.  
The second was the clear exclusion of Sora and the youth Ventus who was kept safe in the castle's walls.

They are the two big factors on fighting back this Darkness and saving the worlds, but the dead silence emanating through everyone was a grave clue.

And the last...were the few words I never wanted to hear in regards to my friend.  
"They're gone..."

My heart felt cold. After all this time, he's gone again...I can feel my rage already boiling over.

"How did you loose them!? Where did they go!?"  
Kairi was quick to restrain me, a tight but reassuring hand around mine; a firm nod was enough for me to cool my temper and listen to her words.

Finally, with a wisp of a sigh escaping, she spoke.  
"I-...I don't know how...but we managed to find Ven without these...Seekers of Darkness finding us. But Sora..."

Aqua flitted a stray glance at me, swallowing a faint lump of anxiety; "-I should've seen it sooner...he was pretty slow behind me, tired. I felt his heart...was getting weaker."

Sora's heart... _weak?_  
The two words I never wanted to hear put together in a sentence was right in front of me, buzzing in my head like angry bees.

How was he getting weaker!?

"I figured it was the magic affecting him," she painfully continued; "and the Castle was back on the side of Light once I broke the seal...thank goodness. But he-..."

She took another inhale, now sharp, her sleepless eyes pooling tears.  
"Sora collapsed...just as he released Ven's heart. They were too quick to react, too fast...Their magic was nothing I ever saw. They blinded me, I couldn't see-"  
_They?_  
I was unfortunately quicker to cut her off, just wishing for sore answers; "The Seekers?"

"...No. You told me they were calculative and cruel, but what I heard wasn't. They sounded...desperate. Almost like... _children_..."

But that took us all by surprise.  
Children?

Then, the choked sound of tears broke through, the heartbroken Master hid her face from us.  
"-But now...I failed. All this time, and I couldn't save Ven...I failed as a Keyblade Master..."

"...No...-no you didn't." I tried to contradict, kneeling down to meet her; "I've had my fair share of mistakes as well. But we can fix this...his Wayfinder...I'm sure if he believes in us as much as we do, we can find them. Him and Sora..."

"-Well, you heard the Master!" Lea exclaimed, cracking his knuckles anticipated; "Are we gonna get going or what?"

"Right...Let's go."

 

~~~~

 

We looked in every corner of every world we knew, new or familiar faces greeted and asked on our friend's whereabouts, and even tried calling from the heart; just trying to stir up anything to announce his presence.

We found nothing.

The King, Donald and Goofy were more than eager to help extend our search, even lending me information on a few worlds where Sora went to, strangely being hounded by the Seekers of Darkness.

With that in mind, it pains me to even think that was something else my friend refused to tell about, this increasingly dangerous game of cat and mouse that no one knows but him.

But why would he keep it a secret?  
As far as he knows, he was victim to Darkness more than once by Xehanort's hands, always escaping by help of his companions and friends.

And now...Sora and Ventus...possibly falling to their trap again—

But we still can't find anything to prove it. Was that wicked Master keeping them hostage? If so, wouldn't a Seeker be more than compliant to let one of us know?

And so far, none such of a scenario occurred...we can hope for the best.

Wherever they are, they're safe...

 

~~~~

 

The abandoned mansion looming in front of me stirred up a mess of memories, that long year I wished to forget.

The blinding White Room where Naminé pieced together Sora's memories and the monochrome depths of the laboratory, the massive computer alight with streams of information and the power of simulated worlds.

The curled, pearly-white glass of the flower like capsules lined the rusted conveyor belt, the same sculpted color of the destroyed pillars that lined the mansion's courtyard.

Such disarray wouldn't even compare to the interior, scraps of suit metal and trinkets tossed around like useless toys, blocking our progress to learn the foundation's secrets and origin.

And now...it was fixed.

The sense of cleanliness emanated through the entire room, the disruptive decorations were polished and placed back in their rightful places.

Everything felt calm, soothing, looking as though it was only left there for a second...

—But, who would've done it?

Whoever they were, I could not sense a single suspicious presence, leaving my intrusion to be a particularly clean one, but I'd rather not make any chances.

But I only felt one...their heart shaking in fear in the White Room.  
"I wonder..." I mumbled to myself, my Keyblade drawn defensively as I climbed up to the leftmost foyer where the room was housed.

The doorknob I held felt clammy in my grip, nervous but prepared to behold what laid on the other side.  
But the slight creak of the hinges beheld something completely different, something natural.

Polished oak floors was the first thing I noticed, the slightly-cluttered bedroom held a standing mirror gleaming through the faintly-curtained sunlight, a bookcase filled to the brim with tomes and novels, a miniature table stacked with the bound commodities, and a simple bed with a metal frame; the clean covers sloppily made.

The muffled breathing hidden underneath told a different story.

Though it seemed to be pure habit that I would go to fix the mess, dismissing my blade, a simple rise of the overturned blanket revealed a terrified blonde, a hand covering his mouth that released hoarse, dangerous breathes, and his metallic-bronze Keyblade held in a clearly shaking grip.

There he is...I finally found one.  
"Ventus...?" I calmly asked, but a hitched gasp made him close to hyperventilate out of fright.

_"Wh-...what are you...doing here?"_  
He sounded terrified out of his mind, his knuckles chalk-white as the hilt of his sword was tightened like a spring.  
"It's okay...We need to get out of here. Just..."

_"-No."_ Ven answered, trying to crawl deeper into the safety of the furniture; _"It's dangerous...out there."_  
With that point made, I sighed lightly, halting my ideas of extracting him.  
"Yeah...I'm sure you're right..."

It just seemed to be pure coincidence that I found him so quickly, and without any run-ins with those captors.  
"You can stay here, I'll be back with Sora."

I quickly left, hearing his desperate sobbing just behind the closed door, letting my heart sink a little deeper.

It's alright...once I find Sora, it'll be better...

 

~

 

Nevertheless, I scoured every room in the mansion, old and new, and clearly found nothing to trace my friend.

All that was left was that secret research facility...  
The cold musty air felt the same as I previously scoured, the room harshly dim as the main computer was promptly shut off; the glowing veins of ghastly-blue energy implanted in the walls acted as my guide to the one hall I strived to reach.

Whoever's in here has to be tough, seeing how terrified Ventus is, cowering and crying like a trapped animal.

Whoever it is...has Sora as well.  
My thoughts were the only thing I can hear, my Keyblade refusing to leave my iron grip as the capsules came into my si—

I forgot how to breathe, seeing the one thing that would terrify me the most.  
There he was, but something's clearly wrong.  
No...why here again!?

"Sora!" I screamed, my voice immediately growing cracked and sorrowful as my tears began to blur his form within this glass cocoon.

His usual attire was gone, carefully replaced with a simple white shirt and black flannel shorts, looking like his daily night clothes; his face pulled into a deep, peaceful sleep.

But now...he looks like a test subject.  
"What did they do to you?"

My Keyblade pointed to the capsule with little command, a tiny lock appearing in front of the containment.

"We looked everywhere for you..." I still choked out, seeing the hiss of releasing steam escape past my tear-stricken eyes; "We thought Xehanort found you and Ven...-and..."

Killed you?  
Broke your minds and hearts beyond repair?  
Possessed you and would wait to turn against us on the battlefield?

The possibilities whirred past my head like a hurricane, never settling on one specific thing. But know, with glazed lazy eyes, Sora fell forward, letting me take the embrace either way.

"You're here...You're really here..."

My "hug" felt so inhumane, settling his estranged, lanky body over mine, embracing the horrors he had to suffer.

The beach, our home, was practically cloaked onto him, the smell of sea salt permeated in his clothes brought more tears forth.

Just...who...did this—

"Hey...It's okay..."  
He whispered, his fingers curling around my back were paper-thin compared to mine close to breaking his.

"We'll be home before ya know it...honest..."  
My heart practically stopped.  
"What?"

Home...he thought he was home this entire time...?  
...How!?

-But...he still has to be dreaming...right?

I just had to look, holding onto his shoulders as I stared, and he stared back.

His eyes are green, not a single speck of blue in sight.  
And at that, he gave me a small smile, those eyes twinkling in the mechanical lights behind me.

_He's wide awake._  
"Sora..."

I felt so close to breaking down in front of him, seeing my friend look, act, and talk just like him, but now...I'm looking at a stranger.

"I don't hear the storm. We can head back before Kairi and the others worry too much."

He's just spatting nonsense...and which storm is he talking about?  
The one in my head, or his?

"But we-"

We need to fight this war.  
We need to save the worlds, save everyone.  
Everyone's worried about us...  
Please...you need to remember...

"Let's go home..."

He fell into my arms once again, believing they're so soothing, careful, and loving, feeling him fall back to sleep on me.

I reached my limit.

"Sora..." My entire body shook from the tears, just holding onto him for dear life, this real-life nightmare.

"What happened to you...?"


End file.
